Review of Jung

Introduction

A complete mess from start to finish, this film tries to be an action film but ends up being rather overblown and overdone. The pacing and plot seemed too rushed and unprofessional, while performances from most of the cast are both hammy and uninspiring.

Sanjay Dutt is the only cast who gave this film a some entertainment value, although his voice was dubbed by another person. The dubbing wasn`t bad but you do miss the original voice of the mighty man. Shilpa Shetty and the child actor Jash coveyed good performances for a short role.

The film looked like it was directed by more then two people. The first action scenes with Jackie Shroff are well executed in a `Hong Kong` action style that are reminiscent of early John Woo or Ringo Lam films. These scenes was shot by Sanjay Gupta and seeing his past movies like Khauff (2000) and Hameshaa (1996) it is quite obvious.

But near the end of the film in the climax between Sanjay Dutt and Aditya Pancholi the shots looks awful and does really disappoint. These scenes were directed by Bharat Kaushal and it does look desperate in trying to match up with Sanjay Gupta direction but fails.

Even the songs have a varied look on them with `Aaila Re` looking very fresh and containing some brilliant cinematography and editing thanks to the effort put in by Sanjay Gupta. While songs like `She Gives Me Fever` and `Kadi Te Aana` are terribly shot and edited. This left a sense of seeming out of place in the overall narrative structure of the film.

The overall screenplay is a farce and the song score by Anu Malik is terrible, with exception to the tapori song `Aaila Re`. But kudos to Bappi Lahri for giving a decent background score with usage of techno/garage music that is very original. I also loveed the credits sequences and special effects with perfect usage of C.G.I (Computer Generated Imagery).

Overall I was disappointed with this movie as it could have offered so much more. But with a film that was bugged with production troubles from day one (between the producer - Satish Tandon & director -Sanjay Gupta) its a surprise that the film was finally released on the big screen as in many cases like these the films end up being shelved.

Video

The film is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.45:1, with an anamorphic transfer. This means all of the action does take place within the film frame displayed here and it is seen exactly like it was on cinema. Also the anamorphic picture helps increase the picture resolution and quality which is needed for a film like this.

The sharp and crystal clear picture has no signs of any artefact nor of grain, delivering fresh crisp quality that only impresses for a film this age. There are small signs of shimmering when viewing the film in letterbox mode on a 4:3 television. But when viewing in anamorphic mode on a 16:9 television the shimmering is reduced and is limited to a fraction of scenes, going unnoticeable at times.

Wear and tear for this film is completely non existent as the film is mastered from a brand new 35mm print that appears to be in excellent condition. The detailed picture on this DVD is due to the average bit rate which is very high, providing plenty of information to view.

Skin tones and colour fidelity is outstanding, giving a natural feel to the film. There are moments of red/brown hues taking over some sequences but the film was shot like that and is not the fault of the DVD authoring.

The contrast and dark details is well defined. The scenes shot in the dark are never distorted or confusing. While the strong light beams from the contrast levels are correctly shown and mastered from the 35mm print without being too blinding.

Audio

The sound is presented in a Dolby Digital 5.1 Hindi Soundtrack and is a marvel to hear, from the swelling music when the child is suffering to the shattering sound effects of the climactic action scene. The track fits perfectly with the on-screen action. There are also some highly effective passages which makes the rear speakers come to life, while the LFE kicks in during the songs. Bappi Lahri`s background score is quite active in all channels, while dialouges are crisp and audible on the centre channel.

If there is one complaint about the DVD then it is where DEI have placed the layer change. The change occurs during the much loved `Aaila Re` song and audiences might find that distractible. DEI should place the layer track somewhere more convenient instead of placing the change during the middle of a song, which results in a second pause.

Features

The menus are impressively animated with soundtrack and clips of the film being played on the background plate. The menus are thematic in design and are very easy to navigate over. No extras are provided but space on the DVD is wholly given to the main feature, simllar to Comlubia Tristar`s Superbit DVD`s.

It would have been nice if a DTS soundtrack was included, or a feature on the production problems the film faced.

Conclusion

The DVD quality is excellent, and just on that basis I would recommend this DVD if interested in the film.